View full sizeThe Oregonian/fileTyphoon restaurants closed in February, and a former executive is charged with stealing $1 million from the company.

A former Typhoon executive pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he stole $1 million from the foundering restaurant chain.

The accusations against former Chief Operating Officer Richard Lee Anderson mark the latest chapter in the Tigard-based company's yearslong downfall.

Anderson once publicly defended Typhoon amid allegations that it violated labor and wage laws. But at the same time, prosecutors say, the Tigard man was embezzling thousands from the company almost every month between February 2009 and January 2011.

A grand jury indicted Anderson, 54, on 22 counts of theft Friday. He was arraigned Tuesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Deputy District Attorney Kevin Demer said Anderson collected and kept employees' tax withholdings for nearly two years, leaving Typhoon co-owners Bo and Steve Kline in the dark.

Anderson is accused of funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars from Typhoon while the Klines thought the money was going to the IRS, Demer said.

Bo Kline alleges the same in an IRS tax appeal filed in September in U.S. District Court in Tacoma. She says the Klines shifted management of the company to Anderson in 2009, and continued to receive pay stubs that reflected their withholdings. A financial consultant discovered the issues in December 2010, she said.

Kline couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday. Her attorney, Kevin O'Connell, said she and her late husband trusted Anderson.

"She was devastated by this," he said.

Two days after Typhoon's five remaining restaurants closed, Anderson filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy along with his wife, Janice Robin Anderson. The original bankruptcy filing lists a $750,000 personal loan to Typhoon, noting the insolvent restaurant owed money to the IRS. But the couple later said the loan was "at least $58,371," in an April 9 court document.

Pete Castleberry, the Portland attorney representing Anderson in the criminal proceedings, said he couldn't comment on what prompted the change. Anderson declined to speak to reporters after the arraignment, and a phone number listed in his name was disconnected.

However, documents in the ongoing bankruptcy case offer a glimpse of the Andersons' lifestyle, which included a leased 2008 BMW and shares in Las Vegas and Cabo San Lucas condos.

They racked up thousands of dollars in credit card debt from high-end retail stores, including $11,000 at Nordstrom, $8,500 at Neiman Marcus, $4,500 at Saks Fifth Avenue and thousands more at Bloomingdale's, Eddie Bauer, Gap, J.Crew, Kohl's, Sears and Victoria's Secret.

They also carried debts with Discover, US Bank, Capital One, Citibank, American Express and Bank of America.

In the filings, Anderson says he earned $327,893 in wages and bonuses from Typhoon.

Prosecutors estimate Anderson stole approximately $1 million from Typhoon. The investigation into his actions began in December 2010, and he left Typhoon a month later, Demer said.

Demer said Anderson's daughter also worked for the company as its human resources manager. His wife wasn't an employee but had authority to write checks from Typhoon's accounts, Demer said. Neither Anderson's wife nor his daughter faces criminal charges.

Anderson now works full time at Sysco, Castleberry confirmed. The food distributor is among a number of former business partners that sued Typhoon in the wake of its downfall.

Castleberry said it was "patently absurd" to suggest that Anderson's alleged actions contributed to the fallout.

"Richard Anderson was simply doing the bidding of the (Klines)," he said.

The Bureau of Labor and Industries sought more than $2 million in damages after an eight-month investigation concluded that the restaurant discriminated against its Thai chefs.

Anderson called the accusations "outrageous" in a 2010 interview with The Oregonian.

In August, BOLI announced it had reached a $100,000 settlement with the company. The agency plans to announce within days how it will distribute the money.

Two former chefs are also suing the company, Bo Kline and the estate of Steve Kline for $4.9 million in damages and lost wages. The ongoing case in U.S. District Court in Portland alleges the defendants violated federal and state labor laws.

Circuit Judge Karin Immergut ruled Tuesday morning that Anderson must surrender his passport and remain in Oregon. He also must post $3,000 bail, an amount agreed to after Castleberry argued Anderson wouldn't be able to meet the statutory limit of $36,500.

Anderson will next appear in court Nov. 20. The indictment against him includes 17 counts of first-degree aggravated theft and five counts of first-degree theft.